Emmanuelle Chriqui Interview

2010's No. 1 Woman Speaks Out

Quick Bio

Emmanuelle Chriqui is the No. 1 Most Desirable Woman of 2010 precisely because we don’t know her, which is a rarity in the paparazzi-infested 21st century. Chriqui is reminiscent of Old Hollywood glamour in the sense that the only glimpses we see of her personal life exist on red carpets. Her work on Entourage allows us to believe that there are many Sloans out there in our regular-people world, and that we are all just as deserving as Eric of a beautiful, funny and easygoing woman on our arm. And while Sloan might be attainable to the Everyman, Emmanuelle is not. For the sake of Old Hollywood’s otherworldliness and the dreams it used to inspire, that’s a price we’re willing to pay.

AskMen.com spoke exclusively with Emmanuelle Chriqui about avoiding the paparazzi, filming a threesome with two of her close friends, the next season of Entourage, and what it means to her hold the No. 1 position on AskMen.com's list of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2010.

When doing research on you for this interview, I realized that I really don't know a lot about your personal life. Why is it important to you to keep a low profile?

Emmanuelle Chriqui : I feel like I want to be known first and foremost for my work. The rest is not my priority. I want people -- if they think of me -- to think of a film they really enjoyed or something that they saw. I am more comfortable that way. I don’t think everybody needs to know my business.

Plus Twitter seems to be taking over Hollywood, making celebrities more accessible. What are your thoughts on the social network?

EC: I have been thinking about this a lot. In some ways, I think it’s amazing, like what Ashton Kutcher did for charity for the water in Africa -- raising a million dollars overnight over Twitter. I think when you can do amazing things like that, that’s so worth it. But just to be Twittering, “Hey, I’m at this restaurant and blah, blah, blah,” that’s so unappealing to me. You know what I mean?

On Entourage, Vince goes from paparazzi-infested events to being totally low-profile in Hollywood. Is that something that can be true to life in Hollywood?

EC: Is it easy to avoid paparazzi? It is, it really is. For example, I went out last night, and I knew the promoter of the place. I knew that there was a lot of press on the front. I just called and said: “Hey, is there any chance I can come in the back?” Not even to sound pretentious -- I just didn’t want the whole hoopla. I was just out with this girlfriend of mine, and we had this amazing dinner. We just wanted a fun night out without all the hoopla. And he said: “Yeah, of course.” He met me, and he brought me in the back. That was that. It was wonderful.

I always knew there was a back door.

EC: There is a back door. I mean, sometimes it’s unavoidable or sometimes you just can’t get organized or what have you, but if you make the effort you can generally make that happen.

You’ve been voted the No. 1 Most Desirable Woman of 2010 by AskMen.com readers. What does that mean to you, even though you don’t go out there looking for attention?

EC: I’ve got to tell you -- it absolutely stunned me! I laughed because I thought that is so crazy! It’s such a massive compliment. I don’t understand how or why, but I think it’s so lovely. I laughed about it because I didn’t understand desirable woman -- in what context? Is it because of fans of the show?

What we tell the readers before voting is that it’s not just about being beautiful; it’s also about being talented and intelligent and funny. The women who make the list are all over the board.

EC: It’s so amazing. Hearing what that vote is made of is the biggest compliment of all because it’s not just about being “hot” but about being a well-rounded woman. That’s really empowering. That is just a massive compliment to me -- people recognize that I care about other things. That’s a massive compliment.

And it’s our readers who generate the vote, which is sweet. We just got the results in this week. Megan Fox, for instance, is No. 11. Do you think there’s a danger in doing too many cover shots, too many sexy photo shoots in a short amount of time? Because we were over-saturated with her this year.

EC: I know that that’s just an example. I think that happens in our business a lot. Somebody pops -- sometimes overnight or over the course of a year -- and they become all the rage. It’s not even their fault; it’s a machine. I think it’s detrimental because you don’t want people to get bored of you, especially if you’re in it for the long haul, especially if you’re one who takes your craft seriously and you love the business and you’re here to stay. You don’t want people to get sick of you. I think it definitely can be dangerous if it’s not managed properly. You don’t want to be known as just one thing. I don’t think it’s effective for your work. Then again, you know as well as I do that there are a ton of people who are celebrities -- we don’t even know why they are celebrities -- but then they end up doing incredible things. They start charities -- whatever it is -- if you can do something with it, it’s wonderful. I think that when you don’t and it’s just over-saturation and you’re just like, “I’m sick of seeing this person!” -- it’s just really sad. Unfortunately, it’s kind of what our business has turned into.

You just wrapped Season 6 of Entourage. A lot of people don’t know this, but your character Sloan was only originally scripted for just three episodes back in Season 2. So what made the creators change their minds to keep her on?

EC: I think it was a multitude of things. I think the dynamic between E and Sloan really works. It was a really natural evolution. Audiences really liked to see one of the guys with somebody, and somebody who -- the way the creators wrote it -- somebody who was grounded and wasn’t all crazy Hollywood. It made a nice balance to the show. And then, of course, I think it was just timing. It was just right and it worked and the chemistry was right and they just thought let’s continue with it. So now I’ve had my career that was before Entourage and my career after Entourage. It’s kind of cool, and I am so grateful because I love working on that show.

I read that Kevin Connolly is actually one of your best friends. Does that help the chemistry or make it more awkward?

EC: It really helps. Kevin is also a bit of a confidante. If I need some advice, work-wise or whatever, he always jokes around that he should take 5% for management fees. He is a really smart guy, and he has been in the business forever. Over the years, we’ve become such great friends, and it helps with our dynamic. Sometimes we can be snippy with each other like a real couple. It’s funny, like: “Oh my, we’re becoming E and Sloan!”

Has being on a set with so many guys rubbed off on you? And what’s your downtime like on the set?

EC: I don’t work every day, so usually the days that I’m called on we’re just working and we’ll have lunch together. The women on the show [check out AskMen.com's article on Top 10: Entourage Babes], though, I’m very good friends with. Perrey Reeves, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Carla Gugino -- those are three of my closest friends that, thanks to the show, I have met. As much as the show is super guy-heavy, I’ve made amazing friendships with it -- not just with the boys, but with the women too.

And because I also work in a super guy-heavy atmosphere at AskMen.com, I have to ask you about the infamous threesome scene…

She’s also on this list.

EC: Malin is the sh*t. I love her.

So how did you two get comfortable going at it and knowing that HBO would handle it properly?

EC: It’s a really funny thing. We were looking for the girl. We held auditions, and Kevin and I sat in on the auditions. The moment that Malin walked in, we were like: “Oh my God -- that’s her!” The creator was like: “I think you guys are blushing.” She just had it -- she just totally nailed it. Then I thought if we’re going to be best friends, we need to hang out before this to be completely comfortable. Malin and I went out for drinks. We had gone out one night and it turns out that, as much as Malin is Swedish, she was raised in Toronto. She knew my very first boyfriend. It was surreal, just that whole Canadian [thing]. It was funny because she got married like six months later and, on the show, the week that she was filming, she goes: “I don’t know you well, but I know we’re going to be super close, and I would love for you to come to my wedding." My boyfriend at the time and I went to her wedding in Italy. Proof is in the pudding: We are great friends to this day.